La Crosse development projects were a big trend in 2024

New buildings, and new uses for old properties, have been high priorities in La Crosse recently, and the year 2024 carried on that trend.

Visible changes at Valley View Mall have been seen lately.

At the start of last year, La Crosse’s city council approved partial demolition at the mall, specifically the removal of the Macy’s store, which had been empty for a few years. Dayton’s originally occupied the Macy’s space when Valley View opened in 1980.

Herberger’s was the last department store to occupy that space in the mall. Developers are still working on replacing the storefront with a Starbucks, Raising Cane’s and Panda Express, along with a car wash.

Other development in the city included every Shopko getting repurposed, including an Aldi’s on the south side and moving TJ Maxx into one across from the mall. The third Shopko was converted into a pickleball facility.

And while the Shopkos are now gone, La Crosse’s lone Kmart still stands. Three Sixty Real Estate Solutions asked the city council last year for an extension on developing the lot. That 18-month extension ends in February.

The River Point project in La Crosse, on the former Mobil Oil property, has been in development for several months, if not years or decades depending on how you look at it.

City leaders gathered at River Point last May to celebrate progress on an apartment building called the Driftless.

Project manager Jason Gilman said that community members were excited about future growth on the site just north of downtown, near the Black River.

Construction also began around the same time for The Collective, a new apartment complex at 4th and Jackson Streets. Some of the apartments in that project will be reserved for tenants, who have recently been homeless.

Also during 2024, Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse opened its $200 million new hospital along West Avenue in La Crosse. The six-floor building takes the place of the former St. Francis Hospital nearby.

The new 96-bed facility took two years to construct and was dedicated last August.

The new hospital was built with a helicopter landing pad on the roof. It also features specialty areas for surgery and intensive care, along with rooms for mothers giving birth.

The actual transfer of patients and staff from the old Mayo building to the new one lasted about a month.